The present disclosure relates generally to an apparatus and method for displaying or exhibiting a human organ for educational and informative purposes. The disclosure is particularly applicable to an inflatable exhibit of a human heart and a method of exhibiting same.
The human heart is arguably the most important organ in the body. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for one death every minute. Certain forms of heart disease may be prevented by altering life styles, food choices, and/or exercise patterns. Certain forms of heart disease may also be successfully treated. Valve replacements, cardiac bypass grafts, and coronary artery stent implants are just some of the procedures employed to treat heart diseases. In any event, there remains a need to educate the public about the types and causes of heart disease and the methods of prevention and medical treatments. This is especially true for younger people, as it is now known that some types of heart disease start with poor choices made in childhood.
A variety of presentation tools and techniques are available to aid in educating an audience about the heart and heart disease. Pictures, graphics, and videos may be used to illustrate parts of the heart and may be accompanied by literal or audio narrative to teach students and audiences about the different parts and functions of the heart, and the medical conditions relevant to the illustrated parts. Computer-aided simulations and animations can also be used to explain detailed or more complex features of the heart and heart disease. These are particularly useful in illustrating blood flow through the heart as well as certain effects of disease on the heart.
A physical model or representation of the heart provides additional flexibility as a teaching aid. A three-dimensional model offers a more accurate representation of the heart. It can also provide various visual perspectives from which the audience can view the heart, heart functions, and the effects of heart disease. Life-size models (and cadaver hearts) provide, of course, a more accurate representation than a smaller scale model. Larger-scale models provide an even greater capacity to display parts of the heart, and thus, can be more effective in conveying the more detailed and complex features of the heart, its functions, and the effects of heart disease.
A large-scale model of the heart that may help provide some background for the present invention is one known as the “Giant Heart” and is on exhibit at the Franklin Museum in Philadelphia, Pa. This “Giant Heart” is equipped with a walk-through pathway that allows the visitor to enter the heart model and access the various chambers of the heart in a sequence that replicates the normal blood flow through the heart. While allowing the visitor an interactive educational experience, including an internal viewing perspective of the heart, the Franklin Museum heart model is a permanent structure and cannot be readily moved and displayed at different sites. The Franklin Museum heart model is also a rigid, multi-story structure that requires the visitor to ascend from the first story to the second story (or in reverse) to traverse the exhibit pathway.
There is a need for an improved large-scale, three-dimensional model or representation of the heart that is readily movable and readily erectable (i.e., portable). There is also a need for such an improved heart model with a walk-through passageway that is efficient in informing the visitor and in directing the visitor through the heart chambers. Such a walk-through passageway preferably employs a pathway that is easily traversed, but yet supports and enhances the educational objective of the exhibit.